Page 44 of Collateral Damage
“As you know, we leave for grad school next week,” Ethan remarks to me over lunch. “A lot is about to change.” It’s the end of the summer, and we’re almost done with our last internship before returning to school to start the MBA program.
“Thank God. I can’t stand to be around Dad for much longer.” The man is the tyrant king of King Media, taking our company name way too literally. He’s spent the last eight weeks “molding us” as he does every summer, treating us like we’re incompetent minions instead of capable adults. Everyone who works for him experiences this to a degree, but it’s so much worse for me and Ethan. We’re our father’s retirement plan, the future of his company, the ones who will continue his legacy—so we have to be perfect.
“Yeah, Dad’s tough, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about,” Ethan says.
I take a huge bite out of my pastrami sandwich to keep my mouth full. I am pretty sure I know what Ethan is going to saynext. I’m also pretty sure this sandwich is going to become as heavy as a fucking rock the second he does.
Ethan leans across the table, his lunch forgotten and an excited glint in his eyes. “Before we leave the city, I want to propose to Sybil.”
Like I expected, my stomach hardens, and my mouth goes as dry as sandpaper. I wipe at my mouth with the napkin to cover my expression. My brother can’t know what I’m really feeling, can’t know my emotions this summer have been eating me alive.
“Okay.” I feign enthusiasm. “That sounds great.”
An engagement means a marriage. It means lifelong commitment. Before we know it, it will also mean a family.
Ethan and Sybil are going to have a whole life together. Their plans will finally come true, and I’m not the least bit surprised. But I am bothered… I kissed that girl in May, and we haven’t talked about it since. Sybil made her choice, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been going crazy for the last three months.
I set my remaining sandwich on my plate, lean back in my chair, and try to appear relaxed. Ethan literally looks like a kid in a candy store right now, and I don’t blame him.
I don’t know how I’m going to live like this. If anything, I’ll have to remove myself from their lives, but how can I do that when I’m being forced to work for King Media or forgo my trust fund? I’d be crazy to walk away. As annoying as Dad is, I actually do like the work.
“So, I need your help.” Ethan rubs his hands together.
I take a long draw from my water to buy time to think.
If I refuse to help him, he’ll want to know why. If he suspects anything, I’ll crack and tell him the truth. I can’t do that to him. Sybil is madly in love with Ethan, not with me. Our kiss may have destroyed me, but it meant nothing to her.
Obviously, it’s Ethan she wants, since she got back with him the very next day. I was her mistake that became her secret andher regret. Thank God we only kissed and didn’t take it further, but it’s enough of a slip up I can’t tell Ethan about it. I have to protect him.
I give my brother the best grin I’ve got, like the expert faker I’ve become. “What do you need?”
“I want to throw a surprise going away party and use it as a front to ask her to marry me in front of our families. Can you help?”
It’s easy to get the families to agree to come to Manhattan for a “surprise,” because even though it comes from me, they all can guess what this is really about.
Ethan and I are living in our parents’ Manhattan apartment since our father says we cannot buy our own places until we’ve earned it. That’s fine with us. My brother and I have gotten a lot handed to us over the years, and we know how lucky we are. Besides, living in our family apartment overlooking Central Park isn’t a hardship.
Except it has been for me lately when the Laurence home is only four blocks away. Having Sybil that close when I know what her lips taste like has made my life so much more miserable.
I’ve already decided what I’m going to do about it. When Ethan and I graduate from business school and sign our contracts with King Media, two things will finally happen. We’ll give our lives to the company, and we’ll get our trust funds. First thing I plan to do with my money is find a space far away from Ethan and Sybil.
Ethan’s not going to like that, since we’ve already been eyeing a new construction building in midtown and planned to get penthouses next door to each other, but he’ll just have to deal. He’ll have a new wife to worry about, so it won’t matter if I decide to live in another part of town.
It’ll be for the best.
“I love what you’ve done with the remodel,” Amelia Laurence remarks to my mother, the wineglass in her hand sweeping in an arc as she surveys the kitchen. “You’ve outdone yourself yet again, Victoria. You know, I really should get you and Sybil together sometime to work on a project. Maybe our new Manhattan house? You both have such an eye for interior design, and it would be fun to see what you could create together.”
I turn to my mom and frown. “You redid the kitchen?”
It literally looks the exact same as it did last summer.
“The counters are different,” Mom remarks, like it’s obvious. “And the cabinets. Flooring is the same, though.”
“Wasn’t this all white before?”
Mom rolls her eyes playfully, and the women exchange amused glances. “Yes, it was white, but it wasn’t a marble countertop. It was granite. I also refaced the cabinets and added new knobs.”
Okay then…
